New Delhi: The national capital is yet to have a dedicated master plan on sewerage rehabilitation, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General tabled in the Parliament said on Friday.

Five years` time taken by the government in appointing a committee and another seven years` time to appoint a consultant for prepartion of action plan coupled with non-furnishing of the essential data to the consultant delayed the process of putting a proper framework for looking into drainage problems in Delhi, the report said.
The CAG pointed that the existing drainage network of Delhi (Master Plan of Drainage 1981) was required to be reviewed and integrated with the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2001.

The audit body further said, in November 2005, an Apex Committe was constituted for preparartion of an Action Plan for improvement of the drainage system, in line with the draft of MPD 2021.

The government appointed Head of the Civil Engineering Department, IIT Delhi, as consultant, after approval of the cabinet in June 2012, it said.

It was to commence work in July 2012 to be completed within 18 months and the terms of reference provided that the Master Plan for Drainage would be in consonance with MPD 2021, as well as Master Paln for Sewage, being prepared by the DJB.

The report further said, the Irrigation and Flood Department (IFCD) did not supply the essential data like that it was suposed to provide to the consultant.
And, since the essential data were not avilable with the Delhi State Spatial Data Infrastructure Project (DSSDI), all concerned agencies were directed to indepently carry out the survey and submit data to the consultant by December 2013, it said.

But, as the result of the ensuing delay, Delhi is still to have a dedicated Master Plan on Sewerage Rehabilitation.

The CAG also rapped PWD and the three municipal corporations of Delhi and other concerned agencies for not maintaining the requisite database of drains under their jurisdiction.

The audit body also said that only 54 per cent of the population of Delhi was connected to the sewearge network leading to reduced discharged capacity of storm drains.

The CAG also pulled up concerned agencies for their
inadequate preparedness for monsoon and non-initiation of flood control works.
As per Operation Mission, constituted in May 1995 by Urban Development Department, de-silting of storm drains and sewers were to be completed before monsoon (June 30).

Despite PWD`s claim that de-silting had been completed, the CAG said they had not been completed.

The audit body said that there were no robust mechanism for identifying points and reaches vulnerable to water logging.

While PWD and NDMC were solely dependent on on information conveyed by the traffic police, SDMC identified vulnerable points on the basis of surveys and EDMC relied on reports received from public, traffic police and engineering staff, it said.

The audit also found that no preventive or routine maintenance of sewerage was being carried out in the DJB.